Since the big quarrel with Liu Buyun, Xu Jie has been in a bad mood. I stayed in my residence and thought about what to do next. Until the arrival of Garin. Since they are partners and have important things to discuss, it is obviously inappropriate to discuss some things under the noses of Vittorio and others. In desperation, Xu Jie had to learn from the glorious traditions of his predecessors and negotiate at the dinner table. As for which restaurant to choose? Xu Jie had already thought about it, Shunjinglou. It was the place where I ate with Liu Buyun and Zhang Peilun. As for the reason. It's very simple, the first is that the food in that place is really good, and the second is that as an outsider, he is not familiar with the place, he only knows this place.

"This guest officer, the upstairs is full, if you want to eat, you can only go down." As soon as I entered the door, I saw Xiao'er saying apologetically.

"What time is it? It's all full? Xu Jie asked very puzzled. Aren't you afraid that I won't be able to pay for it? ”

"How can you, guest officer. But today it has indeed been packed. Xiao'er looked upstairs and said in a dilemma.

Just when the two sides are at a stalemate. A person who looked like a steward ran down and said to Xu Jie: "You came just in time, there is a seat in the innermost room." If you don't like it, you can eat there again. Xu Jie and Garin looked at each other, although the location was not good, but at least it was secluded and suitable for talking, so they didn't say anything anymore.

"This young man in Europa has really deep connections." If Xu Jie saw this person who was talking, he would be surprised, this person was the number one in Beiyang, the governor of the Qing Dynasty and the minister of Beiyang, Li Hongzhang!!

In fact, Li Hongzhang came to Shunjinglou today for a pastime. When he asked for silver, Master Weng did not reply for a long time. There is no news of the excerpts sent to the military aircraft like mud cows into the sea. And now that he is talking to the Italians, how to keep him from in a hurry? After Zhang Peilun reported the situation of his first meeting with Xu Jie, Li Hongzhang was still prejudiced against Lang Weili on the one hand, but he was also very dissatisfied with the problem of the Beiyang Fleet and Liu Buyun's arrogance. So Lao Li decided to take his family out to the next restaurant, on the one hand, to relax and sort out his clues, and on the other hand, to treat his uncle. Therefore, Lao Li killed directly this time. Li Hongzhang likes to be quiet, and when the shopkeeper of Shunjing Building saw that the governor of Zhili came, he paid it back and emptied the upstairs directly. If it weren't for the visit of Xu Jie and others, I'm afraid that only Li Hongzhang and Zhang Peilun would be left on this floor. And under the instruction of Li Hongzhang, Xu Jie and others were next to Lao Li's private room!!

"I heard that you had a quarrel with that Beiyang general soldier?" Garin teaed as she drank a cup of tea.

"Hmm." Xu Jie was vague.

"Actually, there are some things that you don't have to do with him at all." Garin said with a smile. "As the actual controller of Beiyang, it is normal for him to have some arrogance."

"Hmm." Xu Jie is still the same.

"If you have a good conversation with him, you will have a better time in Beiyang in the future." Gaylin continued.

"Hmm." Xu Jie snorted at the corner of his mouth.

"Do you regret it now? If he regrets it, we can ask him out. Let's talk about it again. Garin said seriously.

"And then we'll quarrel again over the management of the army?" Xu Jie sneered.

"You really don't plan to compromise with him?" Garin asked with interest.

"There are some things that cannot be compromised. Is the matter of military discipline child's play?? You see, if it continues like this, within 4 years, Beiyang's training will be a mere formality. What kind of combat will we talk about when the time comes? Xu Jie said angrily.

"So what are you going to do now? Without Liu Buyun's help, you can't enter the Beiyang Fleet, that Mr. Zhang has no official position, and you may not be able to enter the eyes of Lord Li. Gaylin asked.

"There's no way, at least not yet." Xu Jie replied very frankly.

"So you mean, you can't talk about what you said? Are we going to give up on our plans? Gaylin suddenly raised her voice and shouted.

"Haven't you given anything yet? If it's a big deal, you should treat it as a tour, and I will bear all your expenses. Xu Jie smiled bitterly.

"Where do you go back? Do you want to go back to Italy to live your good life, or even apply for Italian citizenship to get a title of nobility or go to England? Where there is a greater future for development. Gaylin asked. …,

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm just staying in Daqing." Xu Jie glanced at it and said.

"Are you crazy?! Do you still want to build a ship in Daqing? Garin had an incredulous look on her face.

"Of course not." Xu Jie said crisply.

"Do you want to go through someone else's way?" Garin frowned.

"I'm going to pay a bribe." Xu Jie said with a wry smile.

"Really? What kind of official are you going to donate? Is it to spend 30,000 taels of silver to be an alternate prefect, or to spend 100,000 taels of silver to donate an alternate prefect? Garin's eyes were filled with disdain.

"I'm going to donate £70,000 to put a down payment on a boat." Xu Jie took a sip of tea and said calmly. It's as if he's talking about something very mundane.

"Poof......." Next door, Li Hongzhang squirted out all the tea in his mouth, and Zhang Peilun was also stunned. Fortunately, the movement of Garin next door was even greater, so Xu Jie did not notice the movement here. The cup in Gai Lin's hand fell directly to the ground, and the porcelain cup of the official kiln in Jingdezhen fell to pieces.

"Are you going to donate a Governor of Zhili? That's more than 400,000 taels of silver. Garin couldn't help but laugh.

"Even if it's the money to buy cannonballs for all of you in Beiyang. It can be regarded as some meager strength for the homeland. Xu Jie smiled bitterly. Before returning to China, Xu Jie thought that he had estimated the situation very accurately, but he didn't expect that the mountain of the Beiyang Min Party was so powerful that others could not intervene.

"Are you going to give up? Leave the money behind and leave? Garin asked curiously.

"Of course not, for the sake of the face of these 400,000 taels of silver, that Master Li may be able to let me enter the Water Master Academy or some other place, right?" Xu Jie said with a little sadness.

"You're really persistent. In your opinion, if Beiyang orders 2 new dome cruisers, what are the chances of winning? Galene didn't know whether to tease or praise, so she had to change the subject.

"Since things are already like this, then you naturally have the right to choose to quit, I'll be honest with you, even if Beiyang has 2 new dome cruisers, after 5 years, there is no chance of winning with the Japanese." Xu Jie said.

"No odds? So what are you still doing in Beiyang? Being cannon fodder? Or do you think you're God and can turn the tide of battle? Garin grew more and more curious.

"This is my homeland, the place where I was born and raised, and you can fight for an illusory Zionist dream. Naturally, I can't make any excuse to get away with it. Xu Jie replied unusually calmly.

"Sue me, don't you really have a chance?" Garin asked, somewhat moved.

"The Japanese are thrifty and seek to be with the world, and they are engaged in industry to rejuvenate the country. When the whole country was expanding the navy and army, what was the Qing Dynasty doing? The Beiyang Fleet is still fighting lawsuits for less than 2 million taels a year and the bigwigs in the center. The whole country is still in a state of confusion. There is no modern industry in sight throughout the country. The officers of the Beiyang Fleet are still complaining about the conscientiousness of a foreigner. You sue me, why did Beiyang win? Answer me? Xu Jie asked a little dazedly.

At the same time, Li Zhongtang's face next door turned pale for a while, and Zhang Peilun looked very embarrassed on the side, and after a long time, Zhang Peilun said: "I can't imagine that the most dedicated person to my Beiyang is actually an English and an outsider, ashamed and ashamed." After speaking, Zhang Peilun shook his head. And Li Hongzhang still didn't say a word.

"So did you decide to give up?" Garin asked again.

"Never." Xu Jie replied firmly.

"Then we can continue to work together. Tell us about your plans? Garin said with a smile.

"Don't you give up? A failed Beiyang doesn't mean anything to you. A man destined to die in battle has no reason to be your partner. Xu Jie had also figured it out at this time, since there was a huge gap between the original idea and reality, he had to face reality.

"At least you are very frank, I know a little bit about the financial crisis in Beiyang, the actual situation of the Qing Dynasty, and the opinions of the people in Beiyang on Mr. Luang Weili, the former can be seen from the purchase of warships by the Qing State, and the latter's description of some bad habits of the Beiyang Fleet can also be heard in the British Navy's top brass." Garin smiled. "If you just blindly cater to Mr. Liu or cover up the real situation, then we don't need to talk about it, honesty is the beginning and necessary condition of cooperation, as for failure? I'm not afraid of failure, because what we're doing now is not going to be successful in the first place, and if you think about the profits, I think you should be your designer in Italy, and I should be a banker in England. And the cooperation between us should be for me to raise money for you and then make profits, instead of racking my brains here for a Beiyang that has no chance of winning. ”…,

Before Xu Jie could react, Gaylin poured Xu Jie a glass of red wine and then poured another glass for herself and said, "This is a French Bordeaux wine from 1848, don't waste it." Cheers. ”

Just when Xu Jie and Gai Lin were toasting to consolidate their cooperation again, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Peilun next door felt like they had knocked over a five-flavor bottle. The Beiyang Fleet and the subordinates of the Huai Army, who he had worked so hard to pull up, were far less knowledgeable than Xu Jie, who returned from overseas, just the most basic requirement of due diligence was far from his expectations. Don't say it's far-sighted, even if it's a word of dedication to duty, it will be discounted!! If this Beiyang is not rectified, I am afraid that there will be no way out!

"If you don't use such talents, you will be damned." Li Hongzhang said hatefully.

"What does Lord Nakado command?" Zhang Peilun asked, his words full of respect and admiration.

"Tomorrow you will contact him, ask him if he wants to go to the Beiyang Fleet or if he wants to go somewhere else, if he goes to the Beiyang Fleet, then investigate it first, if it is available, he will take charge of the newly arrived Dome Clipper." Li Hongzhang said excitedly.

"What about the money?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"Don't worry, don't go to the funds I deserve in Beiyang this time, I'll write this Li character backwards!!" Li Hongzhang said a little hideously.

"Which Liu Zixiang's Min Party?" Zhang Peilun asked.

"I Beiyang will not order only one this time, I will buy 2 of it at once!! I used the officers and students of the Tianjin Sailor School for these two ships. I let him be the only one in the family!! Li Hongzhang said almost roaring.